Posts Tagged ‘tumbler bento’

The latest trend in lunch boxes does away with the box all together. Slender, attractive and easy to put together, the “tumbler bento” is the new shape of lunch on the run. The idea, which is finding favor with career women, is to pop your lunch into an insulated coffee cup before dashing out to work in the morning. The cup keeps your lunch cool (or warm) and saves space in your bag.

According to Get News, the trend was kickstarted by a story featuring model Shizuka Kondo in the May issue of women’s magazine CanCam. The charm points? Sloppy ingredients won’t spill; it fits easily into a bag; hot meals retain their heat better; cool meals stay cool; and if you skip breakfast you can always stick in your cornflakes before dashing out of the house and eat them at your desk with fresh milk. Another tumbler trick: Throw in some dry pasta in the morning and pour in hot water, and it’s cooked by lunch time.

The idea was picked up by morning TV show “Sukkiri!” which ran a segment on tumbler bento featuring enthusiastic women who’d embraced the idea. Another reason the idea is attractive is that, if you like, it allows you to be secretive about the contents of your lunch box. On the other hand, if you go for a transparent tumbler, you can show off your lunch to decorative effect with layers of rice interspersed with layers of veggies and meat. The whole thing looks a little bit like a parfait. Apparently the ideal way to eat it is with a dainty long parfait spoon.

While the kyaraben(character bento) trend still seems to be going strong with competitive housewives who’ve got the time to sculpt their children’s food to resemble cartoon characters, the tumbler bento could appeal to busy career women who are short on time but still want to show off their cooking chops. Another plus is that they’re a useful way for dieters to keep an eye on how much they’re consuming.

Check out the video above for a quick guide in English to making your own tumbler lunch. Warning: Contains rice mixed with pasta. If the very thought of that turns your stomach, please step slowly away from the keyboard.

Japan plays its first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, against Côte d’Ivoire this weekend. Although the tournament kicks off two days earlier in São Paulo, for many the Samurai Blue’s opening game ushers in the event, along with the activities that would normally raise eyebrows but get a pass every four years, such […]